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--DAVID MARANNIS on WashPost “Sunday Opinion” page, “A new term, a new Obama”: “As Obama focused on his second inaugural, experts outside the White House who had been solicited for advice reported that he was more buoyant than they had seen before. In one session with presidential historians, he kicked off his shoes — not exactly a wild and crazy guy, but at least relaxed. In looking for presidential analogies, he turned to two of his predecessors for sustenance: Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Dwight D. Eisenhower. He found some similarities between where the nation is today and where it was when FDR delivered his second inaugural address in 1937, with the nation working its way out of economic distress and a president proclaiming his concern that backward forces would stifle that progress. With Eisenhower, he found some commonalities between the situations he faces now as commander in chief and what Ike dealt with in his first term, both men bringing the country at long last out of unpopular wars — Korea for Ike; Iraq and Afghanistan for Obama — and then trying to reconfigure and downsize the military.” http://wapo.st/XLQ2zR

--FOUAD AJAMI in WashPost Outlook, “How the Vietnam War will shape Obama’s second term … Hagel and Kerry will lead a U.S. retrenchment”: “Obama’s nominations of these men, and the world’s disenchantment with this president, signal that in his second term, the United States will have a less zealous mission in the world. … All three men would disavow the charge that they are ‘declinists’ who believe that American power is past its zenith, but there is an unmistakable pessimism at the heart of their worldview: We are flat broke, with pressing priorities at home. Foreign engagements begin well and end in futility. We don’t know enough about the inner workings of these distant places to help more than harm. And besides, our embrace can suffocate those whose causes we might take up. Syria burns, but we should hold steady and aloof, Obama’s approach has made clear … The United States isn’t that exceptional to begin with, this triumvirate believes.” http://wapo.st/XnG6tC

--“Analysis: Can Obama fulfill wish on Asia outreach?” by Matthew Pennington, who covers U.S.-Asian affairs for AP in D.C.: “Within two weeks of his Nov. 6 re-election, Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar. The historic visit was a sign that he intended to sustain his administration's commitment to the region following the long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. That's a reflection of Asia's growing economic and strategic importance. In the past three years, Washington has embroiled itself in diplomacy over the disputed South China Sea, sent more military assets to the Asia-Pacific and pushed forward a regional trade pact. The Obama administration also has put much effort into managing ties with emerging rival China. Asia has welcomed those moves, but governments in the region question the U.S. ability to sustain its policy.

“While Sen. John Kerry … is expected to continue the focus [as SecState], the Middle East seems destined to demand the lion's share of his attention. There's no end in sight to the civil war in Syria and pressure could mount to take military action over Iran's nuclear program. It also will be tough to enhance the U.S. profile in Asia in an age of austerity. In contrast to China, the U.S. can little afford more aid for its allies or to expand its military presence. … Kurt Campbell, who is expected to step down soon [as Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs], said last week how the U.S. conducts itself domestically and handles its budget problems ‘will be at the heart of how Asia views our enduring role in the Asia-Pacific region.’ For all the divisiveness in Washington, Asia policy remains an area of broad agreement. Both parties have supported efforts to build stronger ties with Asia to position the U.S. to benefit from the region's rapid economic growth: cementing alliances in South Korea and Japan, building a strategic partnership with India and expanding ties in Southeast Asia.” http://yhoo.it/XntGSx

BREAKING:

--“Obama kicks off inauguration weekend with volunteering” – AFP/Washington: “Americans kicked off Barack Obama's inauguration weekend Saturday with a day of service, with the president and his family volunteering their efforts in Washington. … [V]ice president Joe Biden and his family were at the DC Armory in the capital to help volunteers pack 100,000 care kits for deployed and wounded US soldiers, veterans and emergency personnel Obama added a day of service to the inauguration festivities during his first go-round in 2009, when the jeans-clad newly-elected president pulled up his sleeves to repaint a homeless shelter in the capital. … The National Day of Service is dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr. … This evening, soldiers and their children are invited to a concert organized by First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington, featuring a number of celebrity headliners including Katy Perry, three actors from the television show ‘Glee,’ Usher and the hip hop duo Black Violin.”

--“Algerian army stages ‘final assault’ on gas plant: Army kills 11 militants; seven more hostages dead … Military clearing plant of mines” – Reuters/Algeria: “The Algerian army on Saturday carried out a final assault on al Qaeda-linked gunmen holed up in a desert gas plant, killing 11 of the Islamists after they took the lives of seven more foreign hostages, a local source and the state news agency said. … Sixteen foreign hostages were freed on Saturday … [including] two Americans … The attack on the plant swiftly turned into one of the biggest international hostage crises in decades, pushing Saharan militancy to the top of the global agenda. It marked a serious escalation of unrest in northwestern Africa, where French forces have been in Mali since last week fighting an Islamist takeover of Timbuktu and other towns. The captors said their attack was a response to the French offensive. However, some U.S. and European officials say the elaborate raid probably required too much planning to have been organised from scratch in the week since France launched its strikes.”

--“Manti Te'o denies being part of hoax” – ESPN.com: “[D]uring an interview with ESPN's Jeremy Schaap on Friday night, [he] did say he ‘tailored’ his stories so people would think he ‘met her before she passed away.’ ‘No. Never,’ Te'o said during the 2½-hour interview. ‘I wasn't faking it. I wasn't part of this.’ Te'o said he didn't know for sure that "Lennay Kekua" never existed until Wednesday, when Ronaiah Tuiasosopo called Te'o and admitted he was behind the hoax. … Te'o also said: He lied to his father about having met Kekua, prompting his father to tell reporters that Te'o and Kekua had met. … He tried to speak with Kekua via Skype and FaceTime on several occasions, but the person at the other end of the line was in what he called a ‘black box’ and wasn't seen. … He planned to meet Kekua in person several times, including in Los Angeles and Hawaii, but on each occasion she called off the meeting or sent others in her place.” http://es.pn/SiycVK

THE NEXT CLIFF – “Republicans think sequestration is better fight,” by Jake Sherman in Williamsburg, with Manu Raju and Anna Palmer: “Republicans are diving into a strategy to resolve the debt ceiling standoff that they believe will maximize their leverage in the upcoming fiscal fights and show they’re not trying to plunge the nation into default. At their three-day retreat here, the GOP regrouped following the fiscal cliff crisis and decided to move forward next week with a bill to lift the debt cap — with a demand the Senate pass a budget or dock the pay of lawmakers. The surprise GOP move is an effort to reorder the upcoming legislative fights — the debt ceiling, sequester and funding government operations — to their advantage. They hope to raise the debt ceiling for a mere three months and then return to it once those other battles are over, despite Obama’s staunch opposition to a short-term hike. Republicans hope that putting the sequester fight front and center places them on politically more popular ground since Obama will have to act to stop the steep spending cuts from taking effect. The president has said he wants more ‘balanced’ cuts than simply slashing Pentagon funding, and they hope he will put more entitlement cuts on the table with his back against the wall. …

“Internal GOP polling shows that 51 percent of Americans would blame the party for the debt ceiling not getting raised. Under the new strategy, legislative priorities would be somewhat juggled: The House would consider raising the debt ceiling this month, extending government funding and stopping or modifying the sequester the next and finally another debt ceiling hike in April. It’s part of a new recognition by Speaker John Boehner and Republican leadership: They can’t force Obama’s hand, but they can try to reshuffle the deck in their favor. The thinking — laid out by several top GOP aides and lawmakers — goes like this: Republicans are aiming to get the debt ceiling fight out of the way in January so they can move on to what they consider more fertile ground for them: the battles over government funding and automatic spending reductions known as the sequester. The more outwardly political goal of the GOP strategy is to showcase what they say is the Senate Democrats’ three-year delay in passing a budget.” http://politi.co/WOftOt

** A message from America’s Health Insurance Plans: The ACA’s new $100 billion health insurance tax will increase health care costs for families, small employers, and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries in all 50 states as well as state Medicaid managed care programs. It’s time for affordability. www.AHIP.org/affordability **

THE TWO INAUGURAL BALLS are expected to draw the Washington Convention Center’s capacity of 40,000 people, of whom 4,000 will be at the Commander-in-Chief’s Ball, double the size from 2009. Those tickets were given to members of military for free. The Commander-in-Chief's Ball is a George W. Bush tradition that POTUS has continued, while the Kids’ Inaugural Concert for military families is a tradition the Obamas added in ’09.

--REPUBLICAN ROCKER (Lynyrd Skynyrd frontman Johnny Van Zant ) to play bipartisan Citizens Helping Heroes concert Sun. night (Boehner and Pelosi are honorary co-hosts) -- Caitlin McDevitt: “‘Of course I was hoping that we’d have a Republican, that we’d put a guy in there that has run a business,’ Van Zant, who endorsed Romney over the summer, told POLITICO. ‘But you know what? I’m behind Obama now. He’s our president, and any American who goes against our president should be deported out of the country.’

“Van Zant and his band are playing at the Heroes Red, White & Blue Inaugural Concert Ball at the Warner Theatre … The show came about … by way of the Republican National Convention. Lynyrd Skynyrd was scheduled to play an RNC concert for the group Citizens Helping Heroes in August, but the event was canceled because of Hurricane Isaac. So Sunday’s show, sponsored by the same military support group, was planned instead.”

PUNDIT PREP ON INAUGURAL PARADE, from the Presidential Inaugural Committee: “The parade and presidential escort are expected to last around two and a half hours. To help shorten the time a little, we trimmed the number of participants down slightly … to just under 9,000 participants in the 2013 Inaugural Parade, but we were still able to ensure that every state and the District of Columbia will be represented in the parade. Most states will be represented by one group, but some are sending two groups. In the case of Hawaii, both the President's former high school, Punahou, and Kamehameha High School are represented. We have seen overwhelming excitement around this year's parade -- we got over 2,800 applications for participation, more than double what we saw in 2009.

“In addition to the four home-state floats -- Hawaii, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Delaware -- the parade includes a float paying tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and a float honoring the Tuskegee Airmen featuring a 3/4 scale replica of a Redtail P-51 Mustang of the kind flown by the first African American military aviators. That won't be the only non-terrestrial vehicle in the parade. NASA is bringing a full scale model of the Mars Curiosity Rover and the new Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle - which will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit. The parade will also feature: The Gym Dandies Children's Circus from Maine, which features more than forty young people from ages 8-18 riding on six-foot tall unicycles … The 298-member Dobyns-Bennett High School Marching Band from Tennessee -- the largest musical group in the parade. … The 19-member Kansas University Trumpet Ensemble - the smallest musical group in the parade … The 1,461-member marching unit from the Virginia Military Institute.”

MEDIAWATCH – WashPost Ombudsman Patrick B. Pexton in Sunday’s paper, “Using someone else’s words – again”: “Has technology made us all plagiarists? … At any time during the day, I have seven or eight Microsoft Word files open with interview notes and other information copied from various online sources and pasted into them, which I try always to label. I have four e-mail accounts open. I have two Internet browser windows open with maybe 10 tabs in each, taking me to a total of 20 Web sites. It’s amazing that we all keep it straight. And sometimes we don’t. Perhaps that is what happened to William Booth, The Post’s Mexico City correspondent, who this week was accused of — and then quickly acknowledged — plagiarizing passages from a scientific journal article written by a University of Southern California professor, Andrea Hricko. On Tuesday, Hricko wrote to me and Post editors, providing side-by-side comparisons of five passages from her December article in Environmental Health Perspectives and Booth’s front-page article of Jan. 13. Both were writing about the new and larger Panama Canal and its effects on ports in the United States. The Post concluded that four sentences out of Booth’s 1,500-word story ‘contained material copied in whole or in substantial part, without attribution.’ … Booth wrote, ‘I am so sorry for what I did. It was a very serious lapse. . . . This was not intentional. It was an inadvertent and sloppy mistake. But that is no excuse, and I apologize for it.’ …

“Two editors familiar with the situation said that Booth, who had been announced as The Post’s next Jerusalem bureau chief, will not be fired. The Post reported Friday … that Booth will be suspended for three months. An editor confirmed the suspension, which will be without pay — the same punishment as reporter Sari Horwitz received in March 2011 in another plagiarism case. … [T]his is the third column I have written about plagiarism at The Post since I began as ombudsman, and there was a fourth case last September, while I was away, that I neglected. Each one has resulted in an extensive, apologetic editor’s note. This indicates a problem that The Post needs to address, not just after the fact but also before it. The Post’s standards on this point are clear; they’re not at fault. … Perhaps the issue is lax enforcement. The Post could fire people on a first plagiarism violation. That would get people’s attention. But zero-tolerance policies rarely work, and every breach has context with mitigating and aggravating circumstances.” http://wapo.st/VdPUIT

SPORTS BLINK – “Fiery Orioles manager Earl Weaver dead at 82,” by AP Sports Writer David Ginsburg in Baltimore: “Earl Weaver, the fiery Hall of Fame manager who won 1,480 games with the Baltimore Orioles seemingly was engaged in nearly as many arguments with umpires, has died. He was 82. Dick Gordon, Weaver's marketing agent, said Saturday that Weaver died while on a Caribbean cruise sponsored by the Orioles. Gordon said Weaver's wife told him that Weaver went back to his cabin after dinner and began choking between 10:30 and 11 Friday night. Gordon said a cause of death has not been determined. The Duke of Earl, as he was affectionately known in Baltimore, took the Orioles into the World Series four times over 17 seasons but won only one title, in 1970. His .583 winning percentage ranks fifth among managers who served 10 or more seasons in the 20th century.”

THE PRESIDENT’S WEEKEND: “On Saturday, the First Family will join in the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration by participating in a community service project in the Washington, DC area. There will be travel pool coverage of the community service project. On Sunday morning, the President and the Vice President will participate in a wreath laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. There will be travel pool coverage of the ceremony. Later in the morning on Sunday, the President will take the oath of office at the official swearing-in ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House. The First Family will also attend. This ceremony will be pooled press. In the evening on Sunday, the President and the Vice President will deliver remarks at an inaugural reception. The First Lady and Dr. Biden will also deliver remarks. There will be travel pool coverage.

“On Monday morning, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will attend a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. There will be print pool coverage of the service. Later in the morning, the First Family will depart to the United States Capitol where the President will be sworn in. The President will then deliver remarks. The Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will also attend. This ceremony is open to pre-credentialed media. Afterwards, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend an inaugural luncheon at the United States Capitol Building. The inaugural luncheon will have JCCIC/Senate Gallery pre-credentialed pool coverage.

“Later in the day, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will participate in the inaugural parade. The inaugural parade is open to pre-credentialed media. Later, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will watch the inaugural parade from the presidential reviewing stand. The procession to the presidential reviewing stand is open to pre-credentialed media. In the evening, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend the Commander-in-Chief’s Inaugural Ball and the Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. There will be in-town travel pool coverage for all these inaugural balls.”

THE VICE PRESIDENT’S WEEKEND: “On Saturday, the Vice President, Dr. Jill Biden, and members of the Biden family will join in the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration by participating in a community service project in the Washington, DC area. There will be pool coverage of this event. At 8:00 AM on Sunday, the Vice President will take the oath of office at the official swearing-in ceremony at the Naval Observatory. Dr. Biden will also attend. This ceremony will be pooled press. Afterwards, the President and the Vice President will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery. In the evening on Sunday, the President and the Vice President will deliver remarks at an inaugural reception at the National Building Museum. The First Lady and Dr. Biden will also deliver remarks.

“On Monday morning, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will attend a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Later in the morning, the President and the Vice President will depart to the United States Capitol to be sworn in. The First Lady and Dr. Biden will also attend. Afterwards, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend an inaugural luncheon at the United States Capitol Building. Later in the day, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will participate in the inaugural parade. Later, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will watch the inaugural parade from the presidential reviewing stand. In the evening, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend the Commander-in-Chief Inaugural Ball and the Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. These events will be pooled press.”

THE FIRST LADY’S WEEKEND: Today, “The First Family will join in the National Day of Service as part of the 57th Presidential Inauguration by participating in a community service project in the Washington, DC area. There will be travel pool coverage of the community service project. … Washington Convention Center, 6:00 PM: First Lady Michelle Obama and Dr. Jill Biden will honor military families at the ‘Kids’ Inaugural: Our Children. Our Future’ concert. Invited guests include families of active duty, reserve and retired service members. The concert will feature performances by top American artists. The event is invitation-only and a ticket is required, but the entire concert will be streamed online at www.2013pic.org/live on Saturday evening. This event is open press but media credentialing has closed. … SUNDAY: The First Family will join the President as he will take the oath of office at the official swearing-in ceremony in the Blue Room of the White House. This ceremony will be pooled press. In the evening, the President and the Vice President will deliver remarks at an inaugural reception. The First Lady and Dr. Biden will also deliver remarks. There will be travel pool coverage.

“MONDAY: On Monday morning, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will attend a church service at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. There will be print pool coverage of the service. Later in the morning, the First Family will depart to the United States Capitol where the President will be sworn in. The President will then deliver remarks. The Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will also attend. This ceremony is open to pre-credentialed media. Afterwards, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend an inaugural luncheon at the United States Capitol Building. The inaugural luncheon will have JCCIC/Senate Gallery pre-credentialed pool coverage. Later in the day, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will participate in the inaugural parade. The inaugural parade is open to pre-credentialed media. Later, the First Family, the Vice President and Dr. Biden will watch the inaugural parade from the presidential reviewing stand. The procession to the presidential reviewing stand is open to pre-credentialed media. In the evening, the President, the Vice President, the First Lady and Dr. Biden will attend the Commander-in-Chief’s Inaugural Ball and the Inaugural Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. There will be in-town travel pool coverage for all these inaugural balls.”

--CNN’s “State of the Union” (SUN 9-10am ET / 12pm ET): Special Inauguration coverage with White House senior adviser David Plouffe; Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY); former Clinton White House communications director and speechwriter Don Baer and former Bush White House speechwriter Michael Gerson; roundtable with former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (R-GA), CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein, former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) and USA Today’s Susan Page (live from the National Mall)

--TV One’s “Washington Watch with Roland Martin”: (SUN 11am ET): Special episode looking back at the historic inauguration of President Obama in 2009, followed by live coverage of the Inauguration with Congressional Black Caucus executive director Angela Rye, Georgetown University’s Dr. Chris Metzler and Russ Parr morning show co-host Alfredas

--SiriusXM's “Polioptics” with Josh King and Adam Belmar (SUN 12pm ET / 6 pm ET): TV newsman Max Schindler on 50 years of high stakes assignments, from directing coverage of the return of JFK's remains to Andrews Air Force Base on November 22, 1963, to Presidential Inaugurals, which, in 1997, began to feature "Schindler Blue" as the backdrop carpet for the Inaugural Address. Will Ritter, President & CEO of Beacon Operation Security Services, on the challenges of managing the Romney-Ryan road show in 2012. On SiriusXM's P.O.T.U.S. Ch. 124; also available for download on iTunes and at http://www.polioptics.com.

** A message from America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP): The ACA’s new $100 billion health insurance tax is the largest industry-specific tax in the law. The tax will start at $8 billion in 2014, increasing to $14.3 billion in 2018, and will continue to increase each year. A new study shows the impact of this tax on consumers and employers in all 50 states. For example, families who get their coverage from a small employer will pay an average $6,883 in higher premiums over the next 10 years. What will the impact be in your state?